Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Cuts Stock Position in Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its holdings in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 234 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Booking were worth $18,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Booking by 7.7% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 3,132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,407,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Booking by 2.0% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 253 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC grew its stake in Booking by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,201,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in Booking by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 89 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Middleton & Co. Inc. MA acquired a new stake in Booking in the 2nd quarter valued at about $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.42% of the company’s stock.

Booking Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ BKNG opened at $4,064.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $136.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.40. Booking Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $2,733.04 and a 52-week high of $4,144.32. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $3,772.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $3,725.13.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The business services provider reported $41.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $39.22 by $2.68. Booking had a negative return on equity of 200.87% and a net margin of 22.46%. The business had revenue of $5.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $37.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 176.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $8.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $35.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Booking’s payout ratio is currently 26.25%.

Insider Transactions at Booking

In other news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total transaction of $388,761.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Paulo Pisano sold 100 shares of Booking stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3,887.61, for a total value of $388,761.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,787 shares in the company, valued at $14,722,379.07. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Glenn D. Fogel sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4,067.65, for a total value of $3,050,737.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,556,375.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Booking from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $4,350.00 to $4,200.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $3,900.00 price objective on shares of Booking in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Booking from $4,600.00 to $4,200.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Booking in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $3,590.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Booking from $4,025.00 to $3,860.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,064.21.

Booking Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.